


Paper Heart

by IDreamofEugenie



Category: Apink, B.A.P, Kpop - Fandom
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship, High School, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-24
Packaged: 2018-02-09 14:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1986342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDreamofEugenie/pseuds/IDreamofEugenie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paper isn't the strongest material. It's weak, easily tearable, and prone to damage. But for all it's imperfections, it's the pure white piece of paper that I would say describes my heart best. With just a few folds, it can transform into anything. It can change into a plane, and ride the wind. One can write poetry on it,draw, or make art. It's so weak. Please don't crumble my heart. High School AU, with B.A.P. and APink.</p><p>This story will follow the lives of the members of B.A.P, and APink in high school. My writing for this will be in the first person. </p><p>I will probably add more groups into the fic. We'll see how this goes. </p><p>If you have any preferred pairings, please list them!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Wind Carries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoo Youngjae

**_(Youngjae)_ **

Watching the wind is probably the most relaxing thing I do, although taking a bath is a close second. It’s all that I really do in class, where I sit next to the window. It’s my relief from the stress and pressures of high school, from the daily tedious routine of the classroom.

 

I’ve always felt a twinge of jealously when watching the wind. It’s so free compared to the life that I live. It twirls and curls through the branches of a tree, playfully soaring, always flying. Compared to that, I’ve always been grounded and stuck, never being able to spread my wings. I could only stare out the window and observe the wind, while wishing one day that I would be just as free, that I could soar untethered from any of my worries and pains.

 

* * *

 

             It was an eventful morning the day that the wind had stopped blowing. I sat down in my usual seat by the classroom, staring out the window, unhappy.

            “Yoo Younjae, why are you pouting so early in the day? It’s just started,” came a voice behind me. I turned to see a small smile and dark eyes, framed by long black hair.

            “Well, today must truly be a weird ass day if Son Naeun is this early to school,” I retaliated while smirking. Her eyes widened as she flipped her hair, pretending to be shocked.

            “Me? Be late? Who do you think I am?” She gasped as she sat in her seat behind mine. I couldn’t help but smile back at her. She was being ridiculous so early in the morning.

            “So what have we done to be graced by your presence so early in the morning?” Naeun’s eyes narrowed at me in response as she pulled out her pencil case.

            “Do you really not know Youngjae? Didn’t you hear about the new transfer student we’re getting today?”

            “Wait what... Since when were we supposed to be getting a new transfer student,” I replied in confusion. I couldn’t believe that such big news had managed to slip under my radar, even if I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on around me. Naeun just wrinkled her nose at me as she scoffed.

            “I told you about this last week during lunch! Jesus this just shows that you never pay attention to me,” she huffed.

            “Hey, we were eating! You can’t blame me for that; you know I get distracted easily!” I turned my chair around to face her desk. “So tell me about this new transfer student. Knowing you, I’m sure you have some kind of info on him already.” Naeun slowly took out her pencil, taking her time as her small smile widened ever so gradually.

            “How do you know it’s a guy? The new student could be a girl you know,” she replied coyly. Her eyes glimmered with a light that revealed that she was lying. She always got that gleam in her eye when she was messing around.

            “Oh please,” I droned loudly while puffing out my cheeks. “Son Naeun wouldn’t come early to school for a girl. If you need proof, you came a whole fifteen minutes early today, when you usually show up right as the bell rings.” Naeun’s face flushed pink as she slapped me on the arm.

            “Fine you idiot, it’s a guy. But if you had been listening in the first place, you would have known,” she whispered while looking around. She looked at me, while her cheeks gradually changed in color from pink to flaming red. “I heard that the new guy is super good looking, and that he’s supposed to be from Busan. I don’t know much about him other than that though…” I leaned back into my seat as I smirked at her.

            ‘That’s probably because all you cared to find out about was if he were hot or not,” I blurted as a laugh began to bubble out. Son Naeun was so easy to figure out sometimes. Her eyes narrowed at me as she slapped me yet again on the arm, in the exact same place as before.

 

          “Yoo Youngjae, you better shut your face before I decide to poison your lunch, or worse eat it all by myself,” she cried. I could only smirk back at her, rubbing the now sore area of her abuse. I had found another successful way to tease my friend.

* * *

 

            “Why isn’t the wind blowing today?” I muttered as I gazed unhappily out the window. Would I still be able to go through with my daily routine? I would need the wind for that. A guttural cough resounded through the classroom, catching my attention. Our home room teacher stood at the front of the classroom in front of the whiteboard. The name Jung Daehyun had been written in big letters on the whiteboard.

            “As many of you have heard by now, our class will be getting a new student. He comes all the way from Busan, so please welcome him warmly,” the teacher announced. My eyes widened from the news. I hadn’t expected the new kid to enter our class. The teacher moved his way over to the door, opening it and motioning for the new student to enter. As all the eyes in the room turned towards the door, I looked back out the window. I would have to see this new student every day until we graduated. I would have all the time to gawk at him later. I sighed unhappily again at the windless sight, tuning out the new voice that had joined the background. I only wanted the wind to start blowing again.

            “Thank you for introducing yourself Daehyun. You can sit in the open seat next to Youngjae, over there by the window,” offered the teacher. His voice brought me back to reality as I turned my head back to the front of the classroom. A tall figure approached, attracting my attention. The new student, Jung Daehyun, walked down the aisle towards his desk with a nervous gait. His brown eyes wandered nervously about him, as he licked his big lips. As he sat down, his brown eyes met mine, and he extended out his hand.

            “Hi, my name’s Daehyun. Nice to meet you,” he stated, nervously licking his lips again. His voice was unique I realized as I reached for the extended hand. I glanced back into his eyes as I shook his hand, and replied.

            “I’m Yoo Younjae, nice to meet you too.”

 

* * *

 

           Once the lunch bell rang, Naeun and I began rapidly gathering our things. Daehyun frantically looked around, as he noticed that the rest of the class was also putting away their things.

            “Hey Youngjae, sorry for asking, but what’s going on?” I grabbed my wallet out of my bag and stuffed it into my back pocket. Turning towards him I raised my eyebrows.

            “Did you bring a lunch today?” Daehyun shook his head no, confusion evident on his face. I grinned back at him, as I grabbed his arm and pulled him up. When he looked at me in even more confusion, I pulled him towards the door. “Hurry Daehyun! You won’t want to miss out today. If we don’t hurry, we won’t end up getting anything. Trust me you won’t regret it,” I shouted while dragging him through the door.

            We rushed through the halls, skidding to a halt in front of a small crowd of people that blocked the entrance to the dining hall. Daehyun turned to the panting sight of Naeun and I before furrowing his brows. “So what exactly is going on here?” I shot Naeun a pained grimace, code for I’m too out of breath to talk right now.

Naeun straightened back up, and breathily answered “Today’s Wednesday, which means that the dining hall is serving mystery food, and that there is a sale on everything else in the hall. You can buy the equivalent of three lunches for the price of one.” Naeun leaned to the side, clearly winded from the run. Daehyun stared at the sight of the both of us as his lips began to twitch upwards.

            “Did we really have to run here though? Seems like the both of you need life support…” Daehyun teased. I glared at him, as I mumbled back a response.

            “You might not know this yet, but the mystery food usually ends up being ridiculously tasty and gourmet. No one in the school wants to miss out on it, so you have to get here fast.” I could barely breathe, as the result of no exercise began to haunt me. I should have joined at least one athletic club this year.

            We were soon surrounded by a swarm of people, and we gradually made our way into the dining hall. A line of people moved along the counter, peering through the glass. Daehyun, Naeun, and I grabbed trays, moving along the line. Naeun screamed a small “yes!” as she spotted the plate of Alfredo pasta sitting within the glass. I smiled as Daehyun gasped at the sight before him. “It’s so beautiful,” he whispered as he peered through the glass.

            By the time we had grabbed food to eat, our trays had been stacked to the very top with food. “I wonder what today’s mystery food is,” I said while pulling out my wallet. The lady at the cash register smiled at us.

            “I take it you want to order the mystery dish then,” she prompted as she rung up our orders. The three of us could only nod our heads in response as we salivated. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she turned back to grab three small plastic boxes. She passed each of us one box. “Enjoy your lunch.” I smiled as I paid for my food.

“Oh don’t worry, we will.” Naeun paid for her food right after me, and we brought our trays to an unoccupied lunch table. I eagerly sat down, and grabbed my fork, wanting to dive into my food.

            “Hey Youngjae, I think there’s an issue with Daehyun,” Naeun remarked as she poked me in the side. Annoyed, I glared towards his general direction to find Daehyun frantically searching his pockets and looking around.

            “Ugh I’ll go see what’s wrong,” I grumbled in response.

 

* * *

 

            “You didn’t have to do that for me Youngjae,” Daehyun expressed again, his face scrunching up in embarrassment. I shrugged him off as I took a huge bite of my pasta.

            ‘It’s no big deal Daehyun. You can just pay me back later,” I said. “Plus to be perfectly honest, if I had explained to you what was going on, you would have grabbed some money. It’s my fault for just dragging you with us. “

            Daehyun nodded slowly, before finally relenting. “I’ll pay you back when we get back to class Youngjae.” Naeun was too busy eating her food to even pay attention to our conversation.

            I tapped her on the shoulder, narrowing my eyes at her. “Yah, Naeun, you should slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Naeun glanced from her food to me, her eyes beginning to narrow into a glare.

            “Youngjae, you know my abilities. Do you think this puny amount of food could stop me?” I shook my head no, feeling a slight chill run up my spine as I watched her eat. Naeun was not to be messed with when it came to food. As I returned my attention to my own tray, I decided to open the small plastic box, and peek at the mystery food. I couldn’t stop myself from sighing a little in disappointment.

            “Gosh darn, it’s cheesecake. I wanted some meat,” I complained. Daehyun looked up in surprise, and opened up his box to reveal the sweet treat. He smiled then, taking his fork and gouging out a large piece.

            “Ah yes! I love cheesecake!” he moaned as he shoveled more into his face. I couldn’t help but grin at his antics, and moved the box from my tray to his.

            “Here Daehyun, you can have some more. I’m not really feeling the cheesecake right now,” I explained. The smile on his face grew to enormous proportions.

 

            “Thanks Youngjae.”

* * *

 

            I sat on the roof of the school, peering into the front of the school, and the blue sky. The wind hadn’t picked back up. “Whatever, I’ll still do it,” I muttered underneath my breath. I usually came here right after school. The wind would be blowing, and being alone really helped me sort out my thoughts, my dreams and aspirations. I took a piece of paper out of my bag, and a pen. Quickly I wrote something down onto the white sheet, and began to fold it, hiding the written message within. Having finished folding it into a paper airplane, I stood up and walked towards the small fence. “Carry it far wind,” I pronounced, as I threw the paper craft over the fence. There was no wind, but it still glided along, spurred on not by actual wind, but by the winds of change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I'm new to writing so please excuse the poor quality. Let's be friends and please leave comments! Feedback is always welcome.


	2. Hold Me Tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jung Daehyun

_**(Daehyun)** _

Moving is never fun, especially when you’re in high school and have limited social skills. But here I am in the beginning of the spring semester of my sophomore year, moving from Busan to Seoul.

            It had been a surprise. There had neither been talks at the dining table, nor a careful plan to follow. Dad had just walked in one day, and announced to the family that he was getting a promotion. When prompted, he had simply answered that his new job would be in Seoul, end of discussion. It’s not like I had a life in Busan or anything. My friends, school, and home would be left behind for the big city life. Don’t get me wrong, Busan is far from the small countryside village; however, it had nothing on Seoul.

            Promptly, a week after his announcement, our family packed our bags, loaded our things and locked our doors. We took everything that we could with us. Our kimchi refrigerator, my books, the record player my dad was in love with, were all packed and put into the truck. And when I say everything, I meant everything. We wouldn’t just be taking our things; we would also be taking my cousin and her family.

* * *

 

            “Yah Daehyun-ah! It’s been a while! Did you miss me?” Jung Eunji. Her trademark loud voice carried down the street, already raking on my sensitive nerves. I turned and was hit by brute strength and a bubbly personality, Eunji crushing me in a giant hug.

            “Eunji, get off me! You’re not exactly the lightest thing here,” I growled while dumping her on the ground unceremoniously. Dark brown eyes stared back at me, a small fire beginning to burn within them. Eunji jumped back up, kicking me in the shin, hard.

            “You idiot! Do you not know of any other way to show affection! You must have been hit in the head or something. Or maybe you haven’t been show affection before? How do you expect to get any of the ladies like this? Lady killer my ass; at this rate you’re going to end up being alone for the rest of your life you loser,” came the rapid stream of words from Eunji’s mouth. Eunji’s long black hair swirled around her in an angry haze. Sometimes I forgot how scary Eunji could get. I sighed, slowly rubbing my shin, eyes squinting in apology.

            “Sorry Eunji…I’ve been a bit on edge lately. I’m still adjusting to the fact that we’re moving,” I apologized, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her gently. Eunji was a big sucker for hugs.  I could feel her relax in my hold.

            “It’s okay cousin, I understand,” she replied, her voice muffled in my jacket. She pushed me away with one of her trademark big smiles. “Come on, let’s get in the car! Our parents will leave us at this rate!”

* * *

 

            I glared unhappily at the moving scenery. This would be the last time I would be able to see any of this, before being holed up in some gray building somewhere in the middle of a giant gray city. I glanced over at Eunji, sitting next to me. She was sitting with her phone in hand, looking things up. I tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her attention towards me.

            “Hey, what are you looking at,” I asked. Seeing her concentrate so hard had piqued my interest. Eunji tilted her phone screen towards me, revealing images of people modeling in all sorts of different clothes and styles.

            “I’m trying to check what’s in style right now.  I don’t want people to think we’re uncultured, just because we’re from the countryside,” she replied, returning back to her screen. I sighed in frustration. Eunji had just made tangible one of my biggest fears. What would the people think of us? Would they accept us, or would they shun us for being from Busan?

            I looked out the window again, thinking before responding. “As long as you don’t use satori, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Right?” Eunji looked back up, before sighing in defeat.

            “Daehyun-ah, you might be fine, but you know how I struggle with my satori. I’ll just be branded instantly as a country bumpkin the moment I open my mouth. If I can’t blend in, I might as well stand out with my superior fashion sense,” she replied with conviction. After a brief pause in our conversation, she looked over at me. “You know Daehyun…You’re not that bad looking. Imagine all the ladies that would swoon over you if you went through a makeover.”

            I groaned at the idea before turning away from her. “Jung Eunji, don’t you even think about it. Don’t you dare drag me into your crazy plans!” When no reply came, I felt a chill run through my body. I looked back over at her. She looked up from her phone, a smile growing on her face.

* * *

 

            “Jung Eunji…I can’t believe I’m letting you do this to me,” I whimpered as I sat in a chair in front of a hair dresser. Eunji flashed me a quick smile, before pulling up a picture on her phone.

            “Don’t worry Daehyun. You’ll thank me later for this,” she asserted before showing the stylist her phone. “Could you cut it like this please? Don’t you think he would look good in it?” The hair stylist smiled back in response.

            “I’ll try my best to replicate it. He should look dashing when I’m through with him.” I could see Eunji raise her eyebrows at me through the mirror.

 She walked towards me, leaning close to my ear before whispering, “Don’t worry, I looked this place up on the internet. It has really good ratings.” Even with the reassurance, I couldn’t help but swallow in nervousness. The future was beginning to look even more uncertain and scary.

* * *

We walked out as changed people. Eunji had decided that brown was the way to go. My hair had been dyed a dark brown, and styled to the latest fashion. Eunji’s was a lighter brown, but also supposedly “fashionable.” Either way, this girl was crazy.

Eunji took out her phone, looking for something yet again. I raised my eyebrows at her, my curiosity getting the best of me.

“Eunji, what are you looking at now?” Eunji looked up at me, and showed me her phone. A row of photos was displayed, each one showing a different school uniform.

“I don’t know if it’s because our new school is going to be an arts school or something, but there are so many different uniforms to choose from. It’s funny considering uniforms are supposed to make us look uniform, and yet there’s such diversity,” she babbled. Wait, what had she said just now?

“Eunji,” I shouted, scaring her slightly. “What do you mean an arts school?” Eunji looked back at me with wide eyes, shocked at the sudden outburst.

“Did your parents not tell you? They signed us up for a Fine Arts high school,” she replied, as a slow sinking feeling assailed me in the stomach.

* * *

 

Honestly, I had worried that the new school would be a terrible place. We had left everything we knew behind in Busan. We were in Seoul, where we would have to learn to adjust. On top of this, I would have to attend a fine arts school. I had no talent that corresponded with the fine arts in the first place. I liked singing…only in the shower. I couldn’t really draw anything other than caricatures. My dream had been to become a bio-engineer. But once Eunji and I visited the campus for a tour, and to turn in some paperwork, my worry was replaced with nervousness, and excitement.

            The school wasn’t necessarily the biggest or the fanciest. But it had life. Everywhere students wore different colored uniforms, all of them personalized to match their own personal styles. There would be music festivals, and practice rooms were found in abundance. Free music lessons would be given in the afternoon, and a fine art was a requirement here. They believed that being exposed to the fine arts along with core subjects would create holistic, well rounded beings.

            One thing did stick out as weird though. As we walked around the campus, students would stare at us, whispering amongst themselves. Even when we went to the office to turn in our paper work, a crowd of students had formed around the door, trying to peer in through the small window. When I looked up in shock, I caught the eyes of the girl standing right in front. She was really pretty, with her brown eyes and long black hair. Her cheeks flushed pink before she started giggling with her friends, and they took off running. A bit flustered myself, I looked away to catch Eunji waggling her eyebrows at me. “What did I tell you Daehyun? You’ve got them ladies swooning.”

* * *

 

            The morning that I started school, I was nervous. Actually, nervous was an understatement. My knees were shaking.Hard. Even during breakfast, I had practiced how to speak like everyone else in Seoul. “That’s it Daehyun! Wow, you sound exactly like someone from Seoul,” my mom had encouraged me. I took the subway to school, almost getting lost along the way. Thankfully, the age of smartphones had managed to include a GPS in its many functions. Once in school, I tried my best to calm my fluttering heart.

            “Ugh I feel like I’m going to puke,” I muttered. The door to my class opened then, my home room teacher peeking out and motioning for me to enter. I closed my eyes briefly, willing my heart to slow, and walked confidently (or at least tried to) into the classroom.

            “Please introduce yourself Daehyun,” the teacher prompted. I licked my lips before opening my mouth. I was surprised to find myself speaking without my satori. Words flowed out of my mouth, effortlessly. All that practice seemed to have helped. Things seemed alright, until my eyes focused on a person sitting by the window. He had black hair and a pale white face. His rather doe-like eyes stared off into the distance, peering out the window, clearly not interested in a thing that I was saying. My eyes narrowed a little as I could feel my blood boil a little. My first impression of this guy was rather off-putting.

            As destiny would have it though, I ended up having to sit next to him. As I walked down the aisle towards my desk, I turned towards the offending stranger, and extended my hand. “Hi, my name’s Daehyun. Nice to meet you,” I said, licking my lips at the same time. He looked up at me, a little surprised, and shook my outstretched hand.

            “I’m Yoo Youngjae, nice to meet you.”

* * *

            My day went by fast after that. Everything was a blur, and it was difficult having to watch what I was saying. Thankfully, it went smoothly because of a certain someone. Yoo Youngjae was an interesting person. During class, he was always staring out the window, searching for something. I couldn’t help but feel as if he was unhappy about something, but that was none of my business. Everyone had emotional baggage they didn’t want others going through. However, even if he looked melancholic sometimes, he still seemed a happy person. He had these fluffy chubby cheeks that always made him look like he was having a good time. He seemed to enjoy teasing people, and playing jokes on them. Sometimes he’d get carried away and end up running into things, or awkwardly saying something at the wrong time. But even then, he was a good person. He even bought me lunch, and gave me his cheesecake. If someone gives you cheesecake, it is a guarantee that he or she is a decent person. It had caught me by surprise, but I had found it even more surprising that the really pretty girl from before was his friend. Naeun was hot, and I was sure that it was her that had been staring in through the window, but I didn’t say anything. A person needed his or her dignity after all.

* * *

 

            I left school today with mixed feelings. It hadn’t been that bad, and although I missed my friends, I couldn’t help but feel that making new friends wouldn’t hurt. It was with these thoughts that I was walking through the school gate, when something hit me in the head. Looking around me, I found the culprit of the surprise attack, a paper airplane. I picked it up, looking around me for the person who had thrown it. Confused, I raised it higher into the sunlight to get a better view of it, and discovered that there was writing on the inside. I slowly unfolded the plane, and read the small, distinct words on the white page.

            “When the wind plays tricks, hold me tight, for I feel that the wind will carry me away. “


	3. Paper Crumbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> APink's Jung Eunji~

 

Eunji

            Isn’t it funny how everyone dreams of climbing? Climbing up, going higher. There’s this strange fascination with getting closer to the sky. Now I don’t mean actually physically getting closer to the sky. Thankfully there aren’t masses of people aiming to become one with the sky. I mean it figuratively.

            Success in life is associated with climbing. Anything positive in life is really associated with the act of climbing. If you ever find yourself watching one of those melodramas, the ones that take place in hospitals, where all the main characters are usually doctors of some kind, there’ll probably be a really dramatic scene with a heart monitor, with a whole bunch of flat lines. And when all hope seems to be gone, there’ll be a sudden peak, and the line will climb back up, creating mountains where there used to be flat plains. Everything good is associated with the act of climbing up, of moving closer towards the sky, and I think I understand.

            People just want to escape to another place. It’s that rush you feel when you’re singing, gradually going up in pitch, until you start reaching the ends of your range. It’s the sense of exhilaration that you feel when can feel yourself rising towards the sky, supported by your own voice. It’s the same feeling I get when I climb the tree on the corner of the street, after another mediocre day of poor test grades and boring lectures. As you climb higher, you start feeling the breeze, and once you reach the top, the world is an open place. The sun is infinitely brighter, and the expanse of the sky and sea is all you can really take in, and your worries tend to dissolve away, at least for a brief moment, until reality calls you back, knocking you back to the ground.

 

* * *

            I had gotten a 79% on my math test again… I hadn’t even tried to study this time around. It wasn’t worth facing the disappointment.

The first time, I had studied late into the night, confident that my test score would be beautiful and that I would come home to a round of cheers and a delicious dinner. When the teacher had passed back the test, I tried my best to play it off as if it hadn’t fazed me. I smiled when my friends had cracked a joke, and I went through my day like I usually did. But, I didn’t go back home. I simply sent my parents a text, saying that I would be home late, and I wandered the streets. It wasn’t until I had found the tree that I stopped roaming. I climbed it, leaving my backpack at the bottom, and I watched the sun set.

From then on out, it became a sort of habit of mine. Every time I felt upset, I would climb the tree, and sit and watch until the sun set. Some days I would stay for hours, and other days, the sun wouldn’t last very long. My parents eventually learned of my hiding spot, but they could never drag me out of the tree.

With yet another poor test score weighing on my mind, I dropped my backpack off at the house, and forced myself up the tree. The winter wind was cold, and it easily blew through my school uniform.

“How am I supposed to tell them that I did piss poor again,” I muttered as I looked out towards the sea. It was a cold gray, which wasn’t surprising considering that winter still, had its grasp on the earth. However, although it was freezing, it was still as beautiful as always. Living in Busan had its perks, although it wasn’t Seoul. It was peaceful up here. I could avoid my parents, and think through my thoughts. There were no annoying siblings around, or parents screeching in your ears. It was open, and best of all, free...or at least I thought it was.

“EUNJI! COME DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! MOM AND DAD ARE LOOKING FOR YOU,” came the intruding voice. I sighed as I looked down, squinting in the sunlight to see my big brother walking towards me.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT? I TOLD YOU NOT TO BOTHER ME WHEN I’M UP HERE? WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID? I’M IN A HORRIBLE MOOD, LEAVE ME ALONE,” I yelled back. Siblings were the worst.

His figure continued its way towards my tree, and I could hear him yell something back in response. Too bad the wind muffled whatever he was saying. I began climbing back down the tree, swearing on the way down. Once my feet hit the ground, I whirled around, growling slightly while doing so. “Don’t you know it hurts every time I climb this thing? Why couldn’t you just wait until I was home?” My anger did little to faze my brother. Of course to him I would be no physical threat. My puny height in comparison to his height of 5’10 did little to threaten him. Even now, he just looked back at me with those stupid chinky eyes and that frustratingly cocky half-smile.

“Sorry little sis. I swear I’m not doing this to annoy you. Mom and Dad want to talk with you about something important,” he replied as he shrugged his shoulders at me. My eyes narrowed at his tone of voice. He sounded way too happy for someone who had been forced to come get me.

            “And it couldn’t wait? Why do you sound so happy? What are you planning?” My brother’s half-smile slightly expanded, becoming a three-fourths smile…Is that even a thing?

            “You’ll have to get home to find out sis.”

 

* * *

 

            We were going to Seoul. What…I couldn’t believe anything that was being said. It was bewildering. I was in the middle of school. Why in the world were we moving?

            I stumbled backwards when my parents told me, as if I had been hit with a bat. I found the nearest chair, and sank into it. Looking at my parents, I could see that they were judging my reaction.

            “That’s great! I’m really happy and all…but can I ask why?” My parents glanced at each other before beaming towards me the brightest smile I had seen in ages.

            “Your uncle got a promotion, and they’re moving to Seoul! We thought it would be a good opportunity, so we’ve decided to move with them…” Their response put a smile small on my face. Our family was known for its spontaneity, and their decision to move was yet another example of their randomness.

            “You know, I’m actually kind of excited to move to Seoul and everything, but what about school? And my friends, I’ll be leaving everything behind…”

            “Don’t worry about school…We’ve already figured everything out for Daehyun and you, and you can always make new friends,” my mom replied, making her way into the kitchen. “Let’s eat Eunji, you must be starving.” I followed her into the kitchen, and began washing my hands in the sink.

           “Wait, mom, what do you mean by Daehyun and I,” I asked in slight confusion. I dried my hands on a towel, and headed to the drawers, pulling out chopsticks and spoons. My mom briefly looked at me, before returning to spooning out soup from the pot.

            “Didn’t we mention it before? I thought we did…Your father and his brother enrolled both Daehyun and you in a fine arts school in Seoul. We thought you’d enjoy it there.” At my mother’s words, my fist clenched around the silver utensils, and I could feel my heart start beating really fast. I turned from my spot, and carefully looked at dad. He looked up from his spot at the dining table, and smiled gently at me.

            “You’ll finally be able to do what you love most Eunji, sing.”

           From this point on, everything became a blur as I ambushed my dad, crushing him in a giant hug. “Thank you, dad! You’re the absolute best!” He chuckled in my grasp, petting my head with that giant hand of his.

            “I know I am,” he replied with a small grin. So that’s where that stupid idiot of a brother got it from. I detached myself from my overconfident dad to rush back into the kitchen and tackle my mom.

            “Thank you so much mom! You’re going to make me cry,” I whimpered as I hugged her tight, making sure to make it difficult for her to breathe. My mom slapped at the arms around her with her free hand, while struggling to keep the ladle in her other hand from missing the bowl she was trying to pour soup into.

            “Eunji, be careful, the ladle. Eunji, the soup is hot. Honey please you’re spilling the soup.”

        

* * *

 

    It was in the middle of dinner that I was finally able to snap out of my euphoria, and realize that not everything really clicked together.

            “Wait Dad, what about your baseball team? Who’s going to run it if we’re moving to Seoul? You’re the coach of Busan’s Seagulls. You can’t just leave your flock!” Dad grabbed the last piece of tofu, and stuffed his face before he replied.

           “Well, to be honest, it’s about time that I retire. I’m starting to really feel my age, especially in the joints. Plus, I’m not abandoning the team. Your brother Jaehyo is going to take over for me. He’s old enough anyways, and he’s only ever known baseball really. He’ll be my replacement as a coach, and I’ll still be the owner.” He reached for the last piece of beef, but I snatched it out of his grasp and scarfed it down, facing towards my brother seated next to me to avoid Dad’s glare.

            “Ahn Jaehyo, you’re staying here in Busan, and you never said a word?” I accused him, while stuffing my face with a spoonful of rice. My brother sighed before he pinched my cheek, hard.

            “Yah, Jung Eunji, my last name is Jung now, if you haven’t realized that by now. You think you can treat your brother this way just because I’m adopted?” I squirmed in response, whacking his hand with my spoon.

            “Alright, alright! Oppa please, it hurts. You’re gonna stretch out my cheeks! They’re already fat enough,” I pleaded with him. I could feel my face turning numb from his vice on my cheeks, and my cheeks flushing red from my parent’s laughter. He released his grip on my poor face with a triumphant smile.

            “It’s okay Eunji. I know you’re only sad that you’re favorite brother won’t be going to Seoul with you.” I rubbed my check, before stealing the remaining rice in my Jaehyo’s bowl.

            “You’re my only brother,” I retorted and stuck my tongue out at him. I stood, and started picking up plates to put into the sink. I needed to get away from my brother before he could think of a way to get me back. “Thank you for the meal,” I declared as I ran for safety. However, it was too late. I managed to put the plates in the sink before the traitor opened his mouth.

            “Hey Jung Eunji, didn’t you have a math test recently? Considering you were up in that tree again, I’m assuming you didn’t do that well.” 

I had decided something important tonight. I was going to kill my brother in his sleep.   

* * *

Seoul was everything that I had imagined it, and so much more. There were lights everywhere, and the air really sucked, but my favorite groups were plastered on every single wall, in every advertisement, and on every single screen. It was the best.

 I had managed to convince Daehyun to go through a makeover with me, and now the both of us looked like idols. That kid had a lot to thank me for.

 

* * *

 

            The first day of school in Seoul was one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life. I had practiced acting calm in front of the mirror countless times. Unlike Daehyun, I was stuck with my satori. I might as well look fairly confident while using it.

            I was waiting in the hallway when my home-room teacher opened the classroom door and motioned for me to enter. He was really nice, and he looked the part too. Although he was starting to bald a little, he was very clean shaven, and wore wire-rimmed glasses. If Harry Potter had decided to become a high school teacher as an Asian middle-aged man, he would be my homeroom teacher. I entered in with a confident stride, and cleared my throat.

            “Hi everyone, I’m Jung Eunji, nice to meet you. I’m from Busan as you can probably tell from my satori, and I hope we all get along.” A polite applause sounded from the students in my class, and the teacher rushed me towards a seat in the back corner.

            “Eunji, you can go sit next to Bomi in the corner,” he said while walking towards the whiteboard. “Bomi, please be nice to her and show her around.” When no response came, he turned suddenly, letting loose a white board eraser with frightening accuracy. It hit its mark with a loud smack, and Bomi bolted up immediately screaming an answer to a math problem no one had ever asked. The class erupted with giggles, and I took the opportunity to slip into the seat next to Bomi. Bomi sat back down, rubbing her head, as her face turned a bright red, the color of a tomato. “Bomi, if you’re going to take a nap, please take one outside in the hall, standing up. If not, please pay attention and introduce yourself to the new student later,” the teacher stated before turning back to the white board.

 

* * *

 

            “It’s nice to meet you Eunji,” Bomi announced during our break. She had nursed her wounds all throughout class, clearly embarrassed at the fact she had been caught snoozing. I chuckled before smiling widely. I could tell that Bomi and I were going to get along fine.

            “Nice to meet you Bomi,” I replied back. I stood up, and stretched out my sore arms. I had been busy unpacking our things the night before. Bomi stood up too, walking next to my desk.

            “Are you going to go somewhere? Want me to show you around,” she asked while grabbing her small pink purse. I flashed a grin at her before shaking my head no.

            “I was just going to visit my cousin. We both transferred in today, so I wanna check up with him,” I replied while heading over to the door. Bomi followed along, her ombre hair bouncing with her.

            “You know Eunji, your satori is so cute and fresh,” Bomi said in the hallway. I looked back at her as if she were crazy.

            “You think me sounding like I’m from the countryside is cute? Please I stand out like the country bumpkin I am.”

            “That might be true, but it shows who you really are. You don’t try to hide it,” she responded, shrugging her shoulders. She suddenly grabbed my hand, and pulled me to a classroom down the hall. “This should be the class your cousin is in! It’s not an everyday thing getting a new transfer student, so I might have already checked the files on you guys,” Bomi stated apologetically. I simply raised an eyebrow at her before opening the door. The girls at this school were majorly thirsty. I peeked in quickly, before rushing back into hallway. I had located Daehyun sitting near the window, next to the cutest boy I had laid my eyes on.

            “Bomi, who’s that boy sitting next to Daehyun? The really cute one,” I stuttered, as I snuck another peak through the doorway. Bomi’s nose wrinkled up, as she giggled at me.

            “That’s Youngjae, but I’m warning you right now. He’s a bit of a nerd.”

            To be honest, I felt a bit bad afterwards for judging Bomi for her boy obsession. Thinking back now, I was just as thirsty as the others.

         

* * *

 

   It was during the lunch break that I ran into Youngjae again. I’m pretty sure it was destiny. School here was so different from back home…I just needed fresh air. So I did what came naturally to me. I climbed, or at least I tried my best to. Does climbing the stairs count? Either way, I marched my way up to roof, to be blessed with the sight of the boy from Daehyun’s class. I was really nervous, and I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself. So I just stayed in the doorway staring at him. I think it was then that I realized something, as I watched Youngjae scribble something furiously onto a piece of paper and fold it up into a paper airplane. He stood up and released the plane, watching it glide into the air. The face can reveal what emotions the heart feels, and if people’s hearts were made of paper, Youngjae’s would be crumbled up, damaged and wrinkled.

           

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading~ Really, it's much appreciated. I know that I'm lacking and there are probably a boat load of mistakes, but please bear with me. Comment below, and feedback is always welcome!


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